Needham Junior Football Week 7

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Friday

Oct 19, 2018 at 5:26 PMOct 19, 2018 at 5:26 PM

Needham traveled to Franklin & Foxborough for Week 7 and the sixth grade squad continued its winning – and shutout – streak, while the seventh and eighth grade squads lost tough ones. For Week 8, the Junior Rockets have their homecoming games hosting Weymouth and Attleboro.

A Squad (eighth grade) – Franklin 38, Needham 8: Needham (2-5) started Sunday’s game against Franklin with a bang as Marcus Fuentes returned the opening kickoff for a TD and followed it up by kicking for the extra two points. From that point on, it was Franklin’s game. The Needham Rockets were not able to get in sync on offense or defense. They ended up losing by 30.

Next week marks the last Junior Football game for these eighth-graders, many of whom have been playing since second or third grade. Come out to Needham High School on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. to see them take on Weymouth.

B Squad (seventh grade) – Franklin 18, Needham 14: B squad (1-6) suffered a heartbreaker of a loss, despite another amazing effort. Each week, this team gets stronger and this past week was a perfect example of such. Nick Berney, Chris Keisling, Sam Hughes, Charlie Fondo, Josh Morant, Gabe Quezada, Lyle Corwin and Logan Murphy provided the tough work in the trenches all game. Andrew Spezzano and Jase Hannigan both had a touchdown apiece; and Yago Haig had a successful extra point attempt after the first touchdown to add 2 points to the board and gets the score to 8-6 in favor of Needham at the half.

On defense, James Young had a huge interception. Also strong on defense were Teddy McKeigue, PJ Hartley, Spencer Chapman, Sean Murphy, Mikey White, Anton Leshchiner and Will Murray, as all helped hold the Franklin offense for much of the game. But late in the fourth quarter, Franklin snuck in a touchdown to go ahead for good. Needham ultimately lost, but this was by far this team’s best show on both sides of the ball and the Junior Rockets should be extremely proud of how they played.

C Squad (sixth grade) – Needham 33, Franklin 0: C Squad team improved to 4-3 with a shutout victory. The Junior Rockets’ offense was firing on all cylinders early. Fullback Travis O’Brien logged over 100 yards and a touchdown, and his backfield partner in fullback Dom Funke also went for a touchdown. QB Aidan Williams ran in two touchdowns and made an interception that he returned for his third score of the game.

On defense, the Junior Rockets extended their shutout streak to 12 quarters and over 150 minutes with their third straight shutout. Middle linebacker Alex Rutley and safety Charlie Cianciolo both logged interceptions to slow down the Franklin passing offense. Defensive tackles Ty Beerbohm and Will Connelly, along with linebackers Nick Sewall, Ben Shreiber, and Denis O’Donovan, flew around the field and severely limited Franklin’s running attack. Needham hosts Weymouth at home next, looking to go 5-3 for their third straight season.

E1 Squad (third/fourth grade) vs. Foxboro*: The third/fourth grade squad traveled to Foxboro on Saturday and played a close hard-fought game. Rory Funke’s and Matthew Mullaney’s rushing touchdowns and Grayden Loeb’s two extra point kicks would be all the offense Needham could muster in a defensive battle.

Bruno Haig’s and Will Young’s rushing, and the offensive line with Giovanni Virgilio, TK Faria, and Emi Farre, wide receivers Sam Drayer, Rob Mahar and Oilver Irons, played hard all day. The defense – led by Dash Mendez, Collin Corbett, Nicholas Hebert, Jayden Montero, and some key tackling by Jacob Donis – was busy all day.

* Note that scores are not kept for the E instructional level of AYF Football.

Homecoming Games 2018 on Saturday

Have a skilled junior footballer in your house? Bring them down to compete in the Needham Junior Football Homecoming Competition at Memorial Park. On Saturday, we’ll have halftime skills competitions where you can win great prizes. Plus all participants get a free giveaway and refreshment for participation.